Archive for October, 2017

iPhone X pre-orders only just started, but our friend Chase Jarvis of CreativeLive somehow got his hands on one of the very first smartphones out in the wild. Naturally, he took this amazing opportunity to run around New York City like a maniac and create the first hands-on field test of the iPhone X!

We spoke to Chase in New York before any of this went public, and he was kind enough to share some sample photos and his just-published video with us first.

Keep in mind that this video and the photos below (more on the CreativeLive blog) are not for pixel peeping or deep technical dives. We’ll be getting our own review unit and you can be sure we’ll test that stuff with the same technical fervor you’ve come to expect from DPReview. Instead, what Chase wanted to do was share his first impressions and a few snapshots after using the device for just a couple of hours.

The good news? Those impressions were extremely positive. No device is perfect, but Chase writes time and again that the iPhone X “felt like the future.”

The point is simple. Just like the first iPhone helped us see the future we couldn’t quite put into words, so does the X. It’s more than just an incremental upgrade from the previous versions. With the iPhone X you can feel the future again in the smartphone.

Check out a few sample photos from Chase below, and then head over to the CreativeLive blog for more of his thoughts on the phone and a few more photos.

If you haven’t used it before, your first question might be what exactly is Luminar? Simply put, it’s photo editing software designed by Macphun (available soon for Windows – download the beta version to try it here).

It might differ a little bit from other photo editing software that you’ve used because it is a photo editor only – it does not include an image cataloging component. It is also a one-time purchase rather than a subscription-based product. Luminar’s workflow focuses on very easy-to-use presets that literally enable you to press one button and completely process your image, ideal for beginners.

In this article, I’ll upload some images and take a whirl around the user interface so that you can understand where all the tools are, and what they do. After that, we’ll dive in with some basic editing techniques. In just a few paragraphs, you’ll have some great ideas on how to use Luminar to edit your own photos.

Starting in Luminar Stand-Alone

To start, click on the Luminar icon. The initial screen asks you to Open Image. Click the blue button to open a Finder (or Explorer) window, navigate to your chosen image, select it, and click open. Your image opens in Luminar.

Opening in Luminar from Lightroom

If you prefer to start in Lightroom, right-click on your image, select Export > Luminar > Open Original Image. Your image opens in Luminar. Note: you can also select Edit in > Luminar.

If you made adjustments to your image in Lightroom such as lens corrections, cropping, straightening, spot removal or noise reduction – instead of choosing Open Original Image, choose “Use .TIFF with Lightroom Adjusters”. Or select Edit in > Luminar and choose “Edit a copy with Lightroom adjustments” from the options.

The Top Toolbar

Let’s take a quick look at the top toolbar inside Luminar. We’ll discuss where everything is and what they do but, just in case something doesn’t make sense, and you’re not sure what each icon does, hover your cursor over it. A tiny pop-up will appear and you can confirm that you’re looking at the right tool.

Luminar’s top toolbar.

Side Panel

Starting in the far right corner of the Top Toolbar is an icon that allows you to open and close the Side Panel, which is where you add Layers and Filters to make adjustments to your image. I prefer to work with the Side Panel open but if you need to see a larger version of your image, click this icon to toggle it off and give yourself a larger workspace. Click it again to toggle it on.

Here the Luminar workspace has the Side Panel toggled on. Note that if the icon is white, it is toggled off; if an icon is orange, it is toggled on.

Preset Panel

The icon for the Preset Panel is one to the left of the Side Panel one. Again, click the icon to toggle this panel on and off.

When activated, the Preset Panel runs along the bottom of the Luminar workspace, giving you a preview of what each will when applied to your image.

Layers and Histogram

The next icon is the Layers panel. It looks like two sheets of paper in a stack. Because the focus of this article is on beginning techniques, we’re not going to talk about layers here. Just make a quick note of where this icon is so that when you’re ready to give it a go, you know how to find it.

To the left of the Layers icon is the Histogram icon.

The Histogram icon is highlighted here in red, the Layers one is just to the right of it. Currently, Layers are turned off so it is gray.

The Histogram itself has two triangles that can be clicked on and off as well. Solid orange triangles indicate this feature is on. When these alerts are on the triangles indicate if your image has any blown highlights/whites or blocked up shadows/blacks. If it does, they’ll be called out in red or blue respectively on the image.

The bit of red “paint” on the petal all the way to the left indicates blown-out whites.

History

Click the little clock icon to pull up the history of all the changes you’ve made to your image. If you’re not sure you like what you’ve done, click on any of the previous steps to get back to a point that you do like.

Undo

The curved arrow to the left of the History icon will undo the last step that you’ve made.

Compare

Possibly one of my favorite Luminar features, Compare is the little icon just to the right of the eyeball. Once you activate the comparison frame, you can slide the before/after line back and forth over the image to see how your adjustments are affecting it.

Preview

The eyeball icon can be toggled on and off to quickly show you your original versus your edited image.

Zooming Icons

There are four zooming icons. You can toggle between 100% and Fit to Screen or make incremental size changes by using the + (plus) and – (minus) icons.

Side Toolbar

Running down the right-hand side is a list of tools that are mostly more advanced so we won’t be addressing them gere. However, the Crop Tool, a scissors icon, is part of almost every workflow.

Cropped to a square and processed using Quick and Awesome Workspace in Luminar.

Filters

Now that you know where all the tools are, let’s talk about how to use them to make adjustments to your image.

Luminar calls each set of adjustments a Filter. For example, the Tone Filter contains sliders that adjust Exposure, Contrast, Whites, Blacks, etc. Some filters, like the Polarizing filter, contain only one adjustment.

To add additional Filters to your image, click the + (plus) sign to open the flyout menu, scroll through it, select the filter you need and then adjust the slider.

Note: if you click the name of the filter it will be added and the flyout menu will close. But if you want to add more than one filter just click the little + at the end of the filter name and it will add that filter and keep the menu open so you can add more.

Workspaces

Luminar offers quite a few different Filters and as you are learning the program you may not know which is the best set of Filters to add to your image. One of the ways that Luminar helps you narrow things down is by giving you Workspace options. For example, let’s say your image is monochrome (or you want it to be). You can choose the B&W Workspace as a starting point. If it’s a landscape, choose the Landscape Workspace.

Luminar’s workspaces make it simple to use.

The Filters included in each Workspace have been selected to enhance just the type of image you’re working on. The adjustment of each slider is left to your discretion.

Cropped and edited in Luminar using the Landscape Workspace.

If you haven’t used Luminar before (or have, but not successfully), start with the Quick and Awesome Workspace. With some images, applying the Accent-AI Filter is all you may need to do. Activate the Compare feature so that as you adjust this Filter, you can see what it is doing. Add Saturation, Clarity, and Vibrance as needed. How do things look? Do you still need additional adjustments but are not sure which ones to apply? Now is the time to try Presets.

Presets

Presets are similar to Workspaces because in each Preset includes a select group of Filters. However, in Presets Luminar adjusts the sliders (or pre-sets them, get it?) to create a unique look. Usually the name of the Preset will give you a good idea of the look that Preset will create.

One of my favorite parts about Luminar Presets is that I can adjust the Opacity of them. In the photo below, the Image Enhancer Preset looks just a tad too strong. Dragging the Opacity Slider to reduce it to 65 was a perfect – and easy – solution.

Cropped and edited in Luminar using the Image Enhancer preset at 65 opacity, with no other changes.

Four favorite Presets

If you’re not sure where to start, or which Preset to choose, here are four of my favorites:

Happy Memories in the Travel set.

Warm Sunset in the Travel set.

Bright Day in the Outdoor set.

Mild Image Enhancer in the Basic set.

To locate the Presets, click the Preset Menu icon in the lower right corner of the interface then click through the choices in each category. Once you find yourself using the same Presets over and over, add it to Favorites so that you can locate it faster. Just click the star on the preset to add it to your Favorites list.

Applying Presets using Compare

To choose the right Preset for your image, scroll through them with the Compare preview panel turned on. As you click on each one, you’ll see both your original image and how it will look after applying the Preset at 100%. That will help you learn how each Preset affects your image and eventually, you’ll find your own favorites.

Fine-tuning Presets

If the Preset you chose for your image looks good but not perfect, remember they can be used as just a starting point. Once you apply them you can decrease the opacity. You can also adjust individual sliders or add and delete Filters in the Side Panel.

Cropped and edited in Luminar using the Bright Day Preset at Opacity 80, Vignette adjusted to -25, Blacks adjusted to +10.

Saving your image

If you started in Luminar, have completed work on your image, and want to create a JPG, Select File > Export to image then select the correct folder and rename the file as appropriate.

If you plan to continue to work on the image, or might want to make changes in the future, select File > Save As to create a native Luminar file, then select the correct folder and rename the file as appropriate. That will retain any Layers if you used that feature as well as the History.

Saving your image to your Lightroom Catalog

If you started in Lightroom, it’s a snap to save your image. After you finish processing your image in Luminar, click the Apply button in the upper left corner of the interface. This saves your image and also catalogs it in Lightroom in the same folder as your original image.

Your Turn

Hopefully, you’ve been following along and processing a few images in Luminar as you were reading. Now take a minute to upload your best image for the dPS community and tell us about how you created it in Luminar. Which are your favorite Luminar presets?

Disclaimer: Macphun is a dPS advertising partner.

The post How to use Macphun’s Luminar for Beginners by Lara Joy Brynildssen appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Leica just announced a new lens – a redesigned version of the classic 90mm Thambar F2.2 from the 1930s. We’re working on a full gallery, but in the meantime, Leica has sent us some exclusive first samples.

Researchers at ETH Zürich have developed an AI-powered system that can turn your measly smartphone snapshots into images that look like they were recorded with a full-blown DSLR… or so they claim.

The project is called ‘DSLR-Quality Photos on Mobile Devices with Deep Convolutional Networks’ and part of the abstract on the project home page reads as follows:

Despite a rapid rise in the quality of built-in smartphone cameras, their physical limitations—small sensor size, compact lenses and the lack of specific hardware—impede them to achieve the quality results of DSLR cameras. In this work we present an end-to-end deep learning approach that bridges this gap by translating ordinary photos into DSLR-quality images.

Of course, the term “DSLR-quality images” could mean many things, but it looks like the software is currently focusing on sharpness, color and tonality. This is in contrast with what smartphone manufacturers tend to refer to as “DSLR-quality images” and what they try to replicate with ‘Portrait’ mode photos: depth-of-field, or rather the lack of it.

To create the software the team started by by training a deep learning system by feeding it photos taken of the same scene using a smartphone camera and a DSLR. This approach worked well but could only improve the quality for the specific smartphone in question. A more sophisticated second version only needs to see two sets of images from different cameras to understand how to apply the image quality from one to the other; in other words: you can feed any photo into the system and apply the image quality of a target camera to it.

The results still need some fine-tuning on occasions—for example, some of the sample shots on display show color casts or a loss of detail after going through the process. However, test images tend to be better exposed and more vibrant. The most obvious improvements can be achieved with smartphone cameras on older or lower-tier devices though.

The scientist hope to eventually use their neural network for modifying the shooting conditions rather than the image quality of the camera. For example, you could turn a photo that was taken on a rainy day into one captured in bright sunshine… for many photographers this might be just a step to far.

If you want to try the current version yourself, you can do so on phancer.com.

Earlier today, the Nikon board of directors announced plans to close Nikon Imaging (China) Co., LTD (NIC)—a subsidiary based in Wuxi City, Jiangsu, China, where NIC employed some 2,500 workers at a factory that produced compact digital cameras and DSLR lenses. The closure, says Nikon, is due to “the rise of smartphones” and the “rapidly shrinking” compact camera market.

Nikon’s announcement of the closure lays the blame for this cut squarely on the shoulders of the smartphone revolution.

In recent years […] due to the rise of smartphones, the compact digital camera market has been shrinking rapidly, leading to a significant decrease in operating rate at NIC and creating a difficult business environment. In this context, the Company conducted rounds of thorough reviews and discussions on the global manufacturing structure optimization measures stated in the company-wide restructuring plan announced by the Company in November 2016. The Company has decided to discontinue operations of NIC.

Nikon says expenses related to the closure of the factory and “discontinued operations of the consolidated subsidiary” are expected to reach about 7 Billion Yen (~$ 62 million USD).

Of course, the end of Nikon Imaging (China) doesn’t mean the end of Nikon cameras in China. According to Nikkei, Nikon controls 30% of the digital camera market there, and Nikon itself says it will “continue proactively developing business and services in China.” This move is simply in keeping with a harsh if unsurprising (and “old news”) reality: the smartphone has killed the entry-level compact.

Peak Design announced the 5L Everyday Sling, a small light-weight bag that can be carried as either a sling or a fanny-pack. The smallest bag in the company’s Everyday line, it’s got room for a full frame DSLR with a moderate-size lens, a mirrorless system with a few lenses, or a DJI Mavic Pro/Spark + controller + accessories. There are two interior pockets, one of which can fit an 11″ tablet, as well as an additional exterior zipper pocket.

The exterior is made off weatherproof nylon canvas, like all bags in this line, and both zippers are also weatherproof. Colors include in ash with leather accents or black with black accents. Retail price is $ 100.

If you want to be sure nobody is spying on you through your laptop’s webcam, the best thing you can do is cover the lens—but the same might actually be true for the camera on your Apple smartphone.

Felix Krause, a developer at Google, has found that any iOS app could secretly use the iPhone’s camera to record images and video of the user, once given permission to access the camera at all. Krause developed an app for demonstration purposes that shows how an app could use either front or rear cameras to capture images and video in the background. The resulting footage or images could be directly transferred to cloud servers without the user being aware or receiving any notifications.

The camera could also be used to run real-time face recognition, possibly even identifying the user.

The good news is that Krause’s app is not approved for distribution through the iTunes App Store; hopefully such malicious behavior would be picked up during Apple’s pretty strict review process. However, if you want to be entirely certain you’re not being spied on, the best options seem to be covering the lens or not granting camera access to any app you don’t 100 percent trust.

For a better idea of the issue, watch the video below that shows Krause’s proof-of-concept app in action, or read the full report on his website.

X-Rite has launched the i1Studio, an all-in-one spectrophotometer designed to make it easy to color calibrate a variety of devices—including projectors, scanners, monitors, printers, and mobile devices. The spectrophotometer is joined by new i1Studio software, the ColorTRUE Mobile App for calibrating iOS devices, and the ColorChecker Calibration for Cameras, a standard 24-patch target.

The i1Studio offers dedicated profiling for the aforementioned devices, as well as Black & White prints. Module features include ambient light measurement, Flare Correct, adaptive profiling technology, support for several video standards including NTSC and PAL, multiple monitor profiling, and extended user controls over luminance, gamma, contrast ratio, and white point.

The device’s related software is based on the platform X-Rite used for its 1Profiler software, promising a “perfect balance” between controls and automation alongside what X-Rite describes as a “streamlined user experience.” ColorMunki Photo & Design customers are offered a complimentary i1Studio software update, as well.

The kit is available now from X-Rite for $ 490 USD.

Press Release

X-Rite Announces its New i1Studio for Expert Color Results from Capture-to-Print

X-Rite Incorporated, the world leader in color management and measurement technologies announces the i1Studio, an all new start-to-finish color management solution that delivers expert results from capture through to print.

The i1Studio enables exceptional color accuracy for photographers, filmmakers and designers of all levels to achieve consistent and predictable results across their workflow – saving time and money. The package comprises the i1Studio all-in-one spectrophotometer, i1Studio software, X-Rite’s market leading ColorChecker camera calibration tools and the ColorTRUE mobile app.

“Photographers tell stories with their pictures. Along with light, color plays an essential role in telling these stories. We want to make sure that your story is told as perfectly as possible, whether it’s color or black and white. Managing color should be easy with getting accurate repeatable results every time as the ultimate goal. i1Studio provides an intuitive, start-to-finish color management solution for every device in our users’ workflow so they can easily achieve this goal and get amazing results.”

– Liz Quinlisk, Marketing Director Photo & Video, X-Rite.

The i1Studio package comes with:

i1Studio Device: The all-in-one i1Studio spectrophotometer is the only device creatives will need to profile their monitors, projectors, scanners, mobile devices and printers.

ColorChecker Calibration for Cameras: The included industry standard 24 patch target allows creatives to create custom camera profiles, set a custom white balance and have a neutral starting point no matter what light photographers are shooting in for a more streamlined editing process. (Also includes Adobe® Lightroom® Plug-In)

ColorTRUE Mobile App for iOS Devices: A simple way to calibrate Apple® iOS mobile devices for a true mobile to desktop color match of all images. (Downloadable from Apple App Store)

X-Rite’s i1 brand has long been the choice for color perfectionists around the world and is now extended to the i1Studio.

Amongst its wide array of features, i1Studio includes dedicated profiling for Black & White prints, scanners, mobile devices and video monitors. The new i1Studio software is engineered on the same platform as X-Rite’s i1Profiler, offering a streamlined user experience with the perfect balance of automation and creative controls. This gives users more options and more control, while delivering prints perfectly matched to their creative vision.

X-Rite’s i1Studio is now available through our global reseller network and on xritephoto.com, xritephoto.eu and xrite.com.

Most photographers will tell you that a tripod is invaluable and is usually the favorite accessory that they carry with them. While a tripod remains an essential piece of equipment, especially for low light photography, it is also usually the one piece of camera equipment that draws the most amount of attention.

In some scenarios and places, you won’t be allowed to use a tripod so you have to find other ways of utilizing your camera to take the photo you want. Here are six tips to help you capture photos in low light without a tripod.

#1 – Raise the ISO

The first option that most people will turn to is to raise the ISO setting in the camera. Principally, the ISO is the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor to light. The higher the ISO the more “sensitive” the sensor becomes to light which in turn means you can capture more detail in low light conditions. In simple terms, the darker your scene is, the higher you need your ISO. But before you start whacking your ISO up to 25,600, beware that raising the ISO also has a detrimental effect on the image.

The higher your ISO setting, the more noise you’ll see in your photo. Too much noise and your photo will begin to start looking soft. The key to being able to use ISO effectively is to balance it with other elements such as shutter speed and depth of field to be able to capture the shot you want.

Always aim to have your ISO as low as possible. Also, make sure you test your camera at different ISO settings before you use it for an actual photograph you intend to take.

Taken at ISO 4000. It was the only way that I was able to capture a photo in this dark tunnel.

#2 – Use Mirror Lock-Up and Live View Mode

Have you ever taken a photo with a tripod, with good depth of field, at a slow shutter speed only to see the final photo on your computer is slightly blurred? This is one question that has often baffled novice photographers but there is a simple solution.

When you press the button to take a photo, the mirror inside the camera flips up out of the way. This mechanical process can mean that there is a slight movement in the camera, which in turn causes a small shake, hence the blurred photo. To get around this problem, you can set your camera to Live View mode (when you get a live picture on the display of your camera) which essentially flips the mirror up permanently (until you switch off Live View mode) and means that when you take the photo you don’t get the movement the camera. Some cameras also allow you to “lock the mirror” without using the live view mode (so using your viewfinder).

This issue would be the same when photographing without a tripod in low light conditions. So in this scenario, set your camera to Live View mode/mirror lock-up to avoid that small, unwanted camera shake.

#3 – Use High-Speed Burst Mode

One of the great innovations of modern DSLR cameras is how much faster you can now take photos in burst mode. Using a high-speed burst mode is a really good trick to capturing decent photos in low light. But this only works when your shutter speed is just below the threshold of you shooting handheld.

For example, if you can hold your camera steady enough to take a sharp photo at 1/60th, you may be able to get away with using high-speed burst mode and using 1/45th or even 1/30th of a second. This is because with high-speed burst mode you have less time in between photos for the camera to move and often you’ll find one or two photos sharp enough for use in the middle of the burst.

Just remember to use high-speed burst as some cameras also offer low-speed burst option and aim for a good number of photos. You’ll also be well advised to try out this trick a few times to find out what your threshold is before you use it in a real-life situation.

#4 – Find a Ledge or Wall

Often your best bet for capturing photos in low light is to find a ledge or wall that you can rest your camera on. Not only does this mean you can have your settings at pretty much exactly what you would with a tripod, but you can also often find interesting camera angles which are different to traditional photos you’d see taken with a tripod.

One thing to be aware of is that you may need to raise your lens up slightly. Otherwise, you may see the ledge/wall in the foreground of your photo. You can use anything you can find or have with you to slightly tilt the lens upward.

I found a small ledge in this old church that I was able to rest the camera on to take this photo.

#5 – Use Your Bag

Over time you’ll begin to pick up tricks and techniques that you will use in your photography. One of the most useful that I have found has been to simply use my backpack. Put it on the floor and put your camera on top and you have a quick tripod without all the attention that a tripod brings.

This trick has been really useful in buildings and places where tripods are not allowed like museums or galleries. You can put your bag on benches and even rest it on a branch of a tree (as I did once).

#6 – Train Yourself

Like anything else photography is something that you can improve your skills. This is also true of actually being able to hold the camera steady. So start by practicing your stance and make sure that you are holding the camera as securely and comfortably as you can.

Work on your composure and try to teach yourself to relax when you are going to take the photo. By practicing over and over again you may find that you actually can hold the camera at slightly slower speeds than you were able to before.

Conclusion

There’s no question that if you want to capture the best possible photos at the best quality in low light conditions, then a tripod will give you the best results. But in situations when that might not be possible, using the tips and tricks above might help you capture the shots you need.

Anything else? What tricks do you use to capture photos in low light conditions without a tripod?

The post 6 Tips To Help You Shoot In Low Light Without a Tripod by Kav Dadfar appeared first on Digital Photography School.